Granddaughter of Detroit-area couple accused of masterminding their armed robbery

While they were fearing for their lives -- sitting outside in a getaway car -- was the couple's own granddaughter, said Royal Oak police.

Author:
Bill Laitner, Detroit Free Press

Published:
11:12 AM EST March 3, 2018

Updated:
11:12 AM EST March 3, 2018

It was bad enough for this elderly couple to be jerked awake shortly before 1 a.m. Tuesday, then robbed at gunpoint when two teen boys burst into their home on a leafy street in Royal Oak near Shrine of the Little Flower Catholic Church.

And worse, for the husband to be injured when one of the teens shoved him to the floor before the two escaped and the man’s wife called 911, according to police.

But now, the couple is reeling from a stunning discovery about the brain behind the crime. While they were fearing for their lives, sitting outside in a getaway car was the couple’s own granddaughter, said Royal Oak police Lt. Keith Spencer. Police believe she set up the robbery, Spencer said.

“It’s a horrible crime. You look at this young lady with these two young males — none of them had any prior criminal record,” he said late Thursday. Now, each could be facing up to life in prison while still in their teens.

On Thursday, the couple’s granddaughter — 20-year-old Robin Dumoulin of Rochester Hills — was charged with two counts of armed robbery, a felony that carries up to life in prison; one count of 1st-degree home invasion, a 20-year felony; and three counts of using a firearm to commit a crime, a two-year felony. Facing the same charges were Dumoulin’s alleged accomplices: Joshua Martin, 19, and 17-year-old Jamall Mobley, both of Detroit.

All three were arraigned before Magistrate Donald Chisholm of the 44th District Court, who gave the highest bond of the three — $400,000 cash or surety — to the granddaughter, according to a police news release. Martin’s bond was set at $300,000, Mobley’s at $250,000, each also requiring a cash or surety bond for the full amount. That means the usual 10% posting allowed for less serious criminal charges won’t spring this group from jail.

If they’d broken in without a gun, the charges and bonds would’ve surely been lighter. Ironically, the alleged weapon they used? According to police, it was a “pneumatic gun,” for target shooting with non-lethal pellets, not bullets.

They were caught through “the teamwork” of Royal Oak police and neighboring Pleasant Ridge police, Royal Oak police Chief Corrigan O’Donohue said, in an e-mailed statement. Royal Oak officers responded to the woman’s 911 call at 12:47 a.m., and arrived at the couple's home in the 2300 block of Elmhurst, just east of Woodward and several blocks north of 12 Mile Road, according to the news release. Immediately, they called for a police tracking dog. They also broadcasted a description of the young men, doing so over police radios that can be heard by officers in neighboring cities — made possible after Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard, about two decades ago, called for the county's numerous police agencies to start coordinating their radio frequencies while patrolling the Woodward Dream Cruise.